The Northern Territory news Tue 20 Jul 2010
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2010-07-20
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English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
Darwin
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Nationwide News Pty. Limited
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/222288
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/691607
www.ntnews.com.au Tuesday, July 20, 2010. NT NEWS. 5 P U B : NTNE-WS-DA-TE:20-JGE:5 CO-LO-R: C-M Y-K ntnews.com.aul l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l NEWS Alan Wilson Just a year in top job for head hospital boss A SENIOR hospitals chief is leaving the Territory after just over a year on the job. Alan Wilson was appointed to the newly created position of Head of Hospitals in April last year and started in the role in July. The new role reported directly to the Health Minister and was created to sideline then Health Department chief executive David Ashbridge. When Mr Ashbridge left the Territory in February, Mr Wilson took on the role of act ing chief executive. But yesterday it was revealed that Mr Wilson was returning to New Zealand to serve as Aucklands Waitemata District Health board chief operating officer. WA County Health Service acting chief executive Jeff Moffet will take up the role of Health Department chief executive in September. Warning to stay away from explosives Major David Eason with the unexploded grenade AUTHORITIES are warning Territorians to stay away from suspicious devices after a man picked up an unexploded grenade from a popular Darwin Beach. The 61-year-old man carriedtheexplosiveknownas a charge demolition scare from Vesteys Beach, at Fannie Bay, to near the car park before alerting police on Sunday afternoon. Defence bomb disposal expert Major David Eason said the lethal device, filled with TNT, had a blasting range of about 5m. If it functioned, it couldve killed the person who picked it up, he said. If you find anything that appears to be an item of ammunition or explosives, leave it where it is. Mark the item and inform the police. The British-made grenade is used by the navy to scare off divers from their ships. The man was walking his dog along the beach when he found the device at 4.30pm. Police and the Australian Defence Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal operator rushed to the scene and cordoned off a section of mangroves. I found that (the item) was a charge scare demolition, which had failed to function, Major Smith said. Its striker was corroded in place, so I could pick the item up and take it away for disposal. Underground power still up in the air UNDERTHEPUMP 1997/98 The Undergrounding Power Project starts as a pilot project in a Nightcliff street. Works in Nightcliff are now finished. OCTOBER2006 Work starts in Rapid Creek to underground power supply for about 675 properties. All properties in that suburb are slated to be completed by between mid and late 2008. MARCH2008 Undergrounding work starts for some residences in Millner. All work in that suburb was slated to finish by December 2009. MARCH2009 Essential Services Minister Rob Knight says the finishing touches are being done to Rapid Creek properties and works have already begun in Millner. He says works for 668 Millner lots should be completed by the end of the year. JULY2010 Only 237 of the 675 Rapid Creek properties have been connected. The rest are expected to be by November. But Millner properties are not expected to be changed over until early 2011. Final demolition of above-ground network in Millner expected mid-2011. This Rapid Creek resident is annoyed that the undergrounding of power in his suburb has ground to a halt Picture: NICK WELSH By ALYSSA BETTS DARWINs multimilliondollar underground power project is up to two years behind schedule, got no money in this years Budget, and its future appears uncertain. One resident said works in Rapid Creek have been on hold for months and there had been no word as to when the job will be finished. The Power and Water project eventually aims to under ground power to 9000 lots in Darwin to protect against blackouts. So far, only Nightcliff has been completed. A Darwin City Council report reveals the delays in Rapid Creek and Millner works are due to asbestos and cash constraints. The delays as explained by Power and Water ... have been due to replacement of asbestos meter panels and also internal resource priorities, the report said. Originally, works in Rapid Creek were slated to be completed by late 2008, and in Millner by the end of 2009. Underground power project manager Peter Kwong advised Darwins council in a recent letter that the final changeovers would now happen by November in Rapid Creek, and by early 2011 in Millner. Demolition of the above-ground network would happen a couple of months after final changeovers. Mr Kwong also indicated there was no government money earmarked for works in other suburbs after that. Cabinet has not allocated any funding to the underground power project for the 2010/11 financial year, he wrote. Early last year, Essential Services Minister Rob Knight said finishing touches were being made to about 670 Rapid Creek residences. But only 237 Rapid Creek properties have been connected to the underground network so far. Power networks general manager Bertram Birk said the 20-year project had so far been allocated $54 million since 2002. He said while there was enough funding to complete works in the two suburbs, it was up to Cabinet to decide if the project continued. Mr Knights spokesman Edwin Edlund said the Government would talk to Power and Water about the next phase. A Rapid Creek resident an noyed by the present delays says there has been precious little information about what is happening. Its nice the Government is putting underground power in. Its just that it has been fairly disruptive and they should let people know when they anticipate finishing it off, he said. They havent been doing anything since November. Alices green swimming pool A NEW undercover swimming pool in a Territory town will go green. The Alice Springs town council announced yesterday that the Aquatic and Leisure Centre will have 275 Heliocol solar collector panels on itsroof. The centre is under construction. The solar water heating system is hoped to reduce the centres gas usage by about 30 per cent. The installation, worth $300,000, was funded by the town council and the Australian Government. Mayor Damien Ryan said: AstheleadproponentofAlice Solar City, this project is a practical demonstration of Councils commitment to Alice going solar. CRAIG LOWNDES HOLDEN V8 Supercars racer Craig Lowndes says he has become hooked on the NT News during his regular visits to the Territory. It is pretty good, he said. When you are trying to rebrand or polish up what you have been doing, it is quite hard to begin with, but Im looking forward to seeing the new and improved version. I LOVE IT THATSLIFE TOKYO: DIGITAL advertising billboards being trialled in Japan are fitted with cameras that read the gender and age group of people looking at them to tailor their ads.